"We are certainly outsiders for the top four now, but we still have got a chance. Today was not good enough and if we play like that there is no chance of getting in the top four. Yet when we function we are a measure for anybody," he said.

"Attacking-wise we were poor today and on the flipside we conceded two very soft tries, direct from a line-out and then turnover ball when we were in attack, that is quite demoralising. It is disappointing, we have got a good squad of players but we are playing without confidence at the moment."

Northampton lost Ben Foden in the build-up to the game when, after playing 10 games in a row after an operation on an ankle injury, he was ruled out by the England medics.

Mallinder added: "We have got six of our pack missing and it is a disappointing to lose Ben Foden, but we don't use that as an excuse, it is about the squad and the other lads have got to step up.

"Ben is not that far off. He is not 100 per cent, but we would have quite liked him to play - he is a key player for us.

"England and their medical staff advised that he didn't play this week. I am very hopeful he will be back next week. He has been training on lots of different surfaces in terms of the icy, snowy, wet conditions and that has probably not helped his comeback."

Gloucester director of rugby Nigel Davies said: "Discipline was always going to be huge for us. We were very accurate in the contact area and defensively we were excellent. Having players like Jonny May makes a difference in a tight arm-wrestle of a game.

"We had to take something out of this game with our ambition to be a top-four team. But we have to turn up like that every week, not every now and again."